Benches, Sighs, and UES Love Lives
by suspensegirl
Summary: POST 2x23. DV missing scene. Vanessa's still sulking over her breakup with Nate...when Dan comes along. Sweet one-shot. Please R & R. ;p Referenced NV & DS.


A/N: Okay, this is definitely one of my last little fics for a while, just because I have finals coming up this next week and then I'll be pretty busy for awhile, but I hope you enjoy it! This is my first Vanessa one-shot, and since she's jumped up to my 3rd favorite character, I think it's a long time coming. Hehe. ;p Enjoy! (and don't be too hard on me…this is basically my first GG related NON-CB fic) POST 2X23

*I own nothing! *sniffles* If I DID, NB would not have happened, b/c CB & NV are perfect together. =)

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Brooklyn had never felt more alone. She had spent a lot of time with Dan and the Humphreys in general lately, because the break up had hit her so hard. It wasn't just the end of a relationship; it was the shattering of her heart. Sure, it hurt when Dan had chosen the perfect, beautiful Serena over his best friend of who knows how many years, but it really had been more of a crush on _her_ end. It didn't hurt like this.

_"I've never felt like this about anyone…never."_

Why couldn't she just tell him she loved him? Surely he had known. It wasn't as if he had said the words at the snowflake ball. Then again, they had become this sick on again-off again pattern and she didn't want to pressure him into Dan & Serena 2.0. They weren't Dan & Serena. They were Nate and Vanessa.

_"All I could think about was…she's the girl I want to be with."_

Tear.

Her feet scuffed along the curb of the sidewalk as she sighed deliberately into the fresh Spring air. It was a normal day. It looked like a normal day. People were coming and going, some fast and some slow. They held bags and purses, they were talking on the phone.

Bench.

_Ah, relief._

The sweet goodness of the wooden Brooklyn bench in front of a store she had no doubt never entered in her life sustained her, if only for the moment.

"Sleeping with Chuck was a mistake," she grumbled, swiping a hand through her dark, smooth locks.

"Hmm…I've heard that a few times," a voice said, and it was safe to say that Vanessa was relieved it wasn't the culprit himself.

"Dan, hey," she nearly gasped. "I was afraid you were—"

"Chuck? Ooo, my ego's bruised, V!"

She smiled softly. "I need to stop drinking," she whined, slumping across the bench where he sat next to her.

He wrapped an arm around her, and tugged her closer. "You've been drinking without me?!" he asked, mockingly.

She half cried into his lap. "Oh Dan…"

"I know, I know, I shouldn't poke fun," he wiped the soft hair out of her face. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment.

She sighed. "Am I a complete idiot?"

"No, V, you're not. Don't you dare blame yourself for this. Nate broke up with you for a crappy reason."

She sighed again, sitting up and straightening out her demeanor. "Yeah, I guess. Ugh, he's such a heartbreaker!" she huffed, slouching against the outside furniture.

He chuckled lightly. "So much for keeping to the same mood," he shook his head and pulled her to him again.

"I mean, Jenny, Catherine, kind of Serena, Blair _and_ me in the same year?!" she nearly shrieked, ignoring her best friend's former comment.

"I know….it majorly," he paused, and she turned her face to him, "…sucks," he finished, still looking ahead.

"That's the best you can come up with?" she asked, straightening herself up again and turning to him.

He looked to her in a sort of weak, sarcastic way. "Yeah, at the moment…kind of," he laughed, and she hit him lightly.

"You're no help," she muttered, pulling herself away from the elder Humphrey boy.

"Sorry," he added, with a bit of laughter slipping past his lips.

She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Oh, I came to find you, naturally." He nodded affirmatively, but she wasn't buying it. "Ok, I'm avoiding Serena."

"Serena?" she perked up, turning to him again.

"Yeah," he said dryly, "Serena—she's kind of in a…financial predicament," he shifted his eyes, hoping she wouldn't pry him further.

But…she was giving him that _look_. The one that said 'tell me now before I pry it out of you'. But if he didn't look directly at her, he couldn't see it, right?

"Dan…"

_Crap. The voice._

He turned to her. "As soon as you tell me how you're doing about the whole Nate with Blair practically seconds after you guys broke up, I'll be happy to give you the details on Serena," he smiled smugly, and her head fell back into his lap.

She groaned. "Ugh. I hate Nate," she grumbled.

"Yeah, I know you do," he said, rubbing her shoulder, and thanking God she hadn't caved. He had already told Lily about the huge mess that was currently Serena Van der Woodsen. Even if Vanessa was his best friend, he wasn't going to go spreading the gossip just yet.

"I don't hate Nate," she moaned.

He smirked silently. "I know."

She sighed. "I loved Nate," she nearly whispered, and if he wasn't mistaken—sobbed.

Dan was quiet for a minute or so before he prodded the curly Brooklyn girl that practically lived with him to sit up. "Vanessa?" he asked in concern, his eyes widening even further when he noticed the tear streaks streaming down her face. He wiped them away with his hands and stood up.

"Come on," he said, tugging at her hand with his own.

"Where are you going?" she asked, more in curiosity than anything else. She knew she would end up following him.

"_We_ are going home," he spoke, surprised by her unusual stubbornness when she didn't stand immediately. He crouched in front of her and looked up into her deep eyes. "No one's home. Jenny's out with Eric and my dad is out sulking over his latest rift with Lily."

Her eyebrows furrowed instantly. "What's wrong with—"

"No, shh—don't even think it," he said, putting a finger to her busy lips. It silenced her instantly. "You are only going to worry about you today."

Vanessa stood with him and let him pull her along by his arm draped across her shoulders.

"I love Nate," she said, quietly again, as they began their walk.

He sighed. "He was _your_ Serena," he said, just loud enough for her to hear. That made her stop, which in turn made him stop as well.

Her eyebrows furrowed again, and her eyes refilled with tears. Dan and Serena had always been a dream that would never happen, then a dream that came true. It seemed like it would last forever. Then, there was complication after complication, and suddenly it just became too much.

It just ended.

Serena just decided that she wanted Dan to cheat.

Because then it wouldn't be so hard.

Another tear slipped down her face, and this time he didn't wipe it away. They crossed the street at the walk light and found another wooden Brooklyn bench, this one just on the edges of a park they had probably played at as children. She cried into him this time. _Really_ cried.

He said nothing now. _Because what was there to really say? _Of course he wanted to tell her that Nate loved her, that he would come back to her, that there was nothing to worry about, nothing to do but wait. All of the wonderful, encouraging things Jenny had offered up when she first came home crying at Nate's sudden decision to ditch their summer backpacking for an internship in the Mayor's office.

But Nate and Blair _were_ together, practically _living_ in the same apartment. And if Nate was _in fact_ Vanessa's Serena, so to speak…then it would only be a matter of time before his best friend acknowledged openly how over they really were. Dan and Serena…Nate and Vanessa…maybe Blair and Chuck had the right idea, even if that idea wasn't exactly working at the moment either. Maybe that bridge was a bad idea.

Nate and Serena were both so nice, so polite in their break-ups to the Brooklyn kids.

It had been good for Dan, who had been practically pining over the ex-English teacher. Perhaps he had actually really gotten over the tall blonde, at least for the time being.

But Vanessa?

"He didn't even act like he missed me, didn't even care," she sniffled into him.

He pulled her tighter.

"Just moved onto Blair like me leaving the party was the single worst thing any human being could've done," she huffed, snuggling deeper into the crevice of his neck. "And then I went and slept with _Chuck_?!?"

He chuckled softly. "It could've been worse…" he muttered.

She turned swiftly and glared at him. "Or…maybe not."

"I'm going to go with _not_, since it happened _twice_," she sounded so disgusted with herself, but he'd already told her not to blame herself and he didn't want to sound repetitive. If she did it again, he'd be ready though.

Her head threw itself back swiftly and she hit her head on the metal nails. "Ow," she said, lifting her hand to the back of her head.

"Oh jeez, are you okay?" he asked, shifting his position to investigate the new, somehow more urgent problem.

She sighed a moment later, and then started laughing. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"God, I'm an idiot," she muttered, still snickering a little bit.

"No, you're no—"

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't even think it. The day you sleep with Blair…_twice_, come talk to me."

He grimaced.

She giggled briefly and then readjusted her head back into the crook of his neck. "Oh, you should have never gone to that school…" she spoke, the energy seeping out of her voice.

He smirked. "You want to try and make it for the long haul again?" he asked.

She lifted her head, looking towards where the sidewalk led, but most of it was blocked by bushes, stores and Dan's head. "Are there any benches along the way?"

Dan turned and peered down the path he was suggesting. He looked back at his emotionally unstable friend. "I think I see a few," he said.

She nodded. "Let's do it."

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A/N: Okay, can I just say…I meant for Nate to be in this and for it to be much longer? Cause I did. But I think this is a nice little sweet DV scene. I missed that we didn't see her in the last episode, and I've seen like a TON of angsty NV vids lately. We need them back! Like seriously? They have jumped up to my #2 couple. Well, please R & R! I don't know if I wrote Dan & Vanessa properly…heh. Like I said, though, no stories for awhile…unless you get really lucky. Flashback on Monday! Woot! ;p


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